The United States is basically the only country that uses the Customary System, but there are a few others. Here's a map of which places use it (gray) and which don't (green).
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We use the Customary System to measure:
Capacity(ounces)
Length(foot)
Weight(pound)
Here are the conversions: Length
1 foot
12 in.
1 yard
36 in.
1 mile
5,280 ft.
1 mile
1,760 yards
1 mile
63,360 in.
Weight
1 pound
16 oz.
1 ton
2,000 pounds
1 ton
32,000 oz.
Capacity
1 cup
8 oz.
1 pint
2 cups
1 pint
16 oz.
1 quart
2 pints
1 quart
4 cups
1 quart
32 oz.
1 gallon
4 quarts
1 gallon
8 pints
1 gallon
16 cups
1 gallon
128
You can have some personal references, here are some examples
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One large milk jug is literally a gallon.
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A school desk is approxametely a yard when measuring the height
A coffee cup holds about a cup.
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A computer monitor (measuring across) is usually extremely close to a foot.
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The average (probably not this one) small car weighs about a ton.
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The average shoe weighs around 1 pound.
Metric System
The metric system is used a lot, the only other measurement system besides Customary, here's the map again. The areas that use it are green, the areas that don't are in gray.
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The Metric System measures:
Capacity(liter)
Length(meter)
Mass(gram)
Here are the conversions: Length
1 centimeter
10 millimeters
1 meter
1,000 millimeters
1 meter
100 centimeters
1 kilometer
1,000 meters
1 kilometer
100,000 centimeters
1 kilometers
1,000,000 millimeters
Capacity
1 liter
1 thousand milliliters
Weight
1 gram
1,000 milligrams
1 kilogram
1,000,000 milligrams
1 kilogram
1000 grams
Here are some examples of personal references:
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(DR.PEPPER MMMMMMMM!) A two liter of soda is...well...2 liters.
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These little things almost always carry 1 milliliter.
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Yes, these are pen caps. The average pen cap weighs around a gram.
Customary System
The United States is basically the only country that uses the Customary System, but there are a few others. Here's a map of which places use it (gray) and which don't (green).
We use the Customary System to measure:
Capacity(ounces)
Length(foot)
Weight(pound)
Here are the conversions:
Length
You can have some personal references, here are some examples
Metric System
The metric system is used a lot, the only other measurement system besides Customary, here's the map again. The areas that use it are green, the areas that don't are in gray.
The Metric System measures:
Capacity(liter)
Length(meter)
Mass(gram)
Here are the conversions:
Length
Here are some examples of personal references:
These little things almost always carry 1 milliliter.
Yes, these are pen caps. The average pen cap weighs around a gram.
A pencil is about a centimeter wide.
Check out these links.
Measuring Measurement
A little history mixed w/ other stuff
Quiz